Dual Cultivation System: My Cultivation Was Crippled, So I Rely on Intimacy to Level Up

Wu Hongxiao felt like she was decomposing from sheer boredom.

She was a creature of kinetic energy, wind and fire made flesh. If she didn’t practice her spear for a day, her hands itched; if she didn’t spar for three, her skin felt too tight for her body.

But now? Senior Sister Du had gone out on a hunt and hadn’t returned. And that bastard Zhou Kai had barricaded himself inside the artifact refining chamber for two whole months. Not even a ghost shadow of him had been seen since.

Boring. Excruciatingly boring.

She exhaled a long, turbid breath, completely listless. She drove the shaft of her spear into the dirt, plopped her butt down on the stone steps of the cave entrance, and propped her chin in her hands. Her eyes glazed over.

Cultivate? She had already finished her daily circulation cycles; pushing further today wouldn’t yield any real gains.

Secluded Cultivation? What if the Head Senior Sister sent a message and she missed it?

Sleep? Too restless.

The only source of entertainment—the last jar of wine in her Storage Bag—had been drained to the dregs ten days ago.

Wu Hongxiao’s desperate gaze finally settled on the three Jade Arm Mantises.

During this period, the Spirit Rhyme had erupted twice more. Zhou Kai’s Spirit Insects had all hit the mid-Second Rank during the first pulse, though the second eruption hadn’t produced such dramatic effects.

She shuffled closer and squatted down. “Hey, Little Cui.”

Wu Hongxiao, acting like they were old drinking buddies, had arbitrarily named them. “Tell me, what exactly is my brother up to in there? It’s just refining a Dharma Treasure. Does it really need to take a geological age?”

The Jade Arm Mantis tilted its triangular head. Its jade-white, sickle-like forearms parted slightly, as if stretching stiff joints.

Seeing a reaction, Wu Hongxiao instantly perked up. She poked another one with her finger.

“You’re Little Yu. And you, you’re Little Lü. Listen up, you three. Let me tell you, my brother Zhou Kai is actually a decent guy. He’s just… a bit of a sly dog.”

She sighed. “He wants me to be his Dao Companion. But what we have is a friendship forged through life and death! We’re brothers! Do you understand?”

Six compound eyes stared at her, unblinking.

The scene was undeniably eerie.

The more she spoke, the more worked up she got. She waved a fist at the insects, lecturing them earnestly:

“Hey, hey, you share a mental link with him, right? Squeak at him! Tell him to hurry up and stop dawdling! If that bastard Yun Kang shows up and he’s still playing with his hammer, won’t we be caught with our pants down?”

Suddenly, the three Jade Arm Mantises raised a single forelimb in perfect unison. They pointed at the sealed stone door, then shook their heads in sync.

The message was clear: Master is busy. Do not disturb.

“Hah! You things have really become spirits!” Wu Hongxiao laughed, her gloom dissipating at their antics.

Then, she froze. A strange realization hit her, and she muttered under her breath, “Wait… why do I sound like a little wife complaining that her husband is late coming home?”

…

Rumble.

The stone door, sealed tight for two and a half months, slowly ground open.

Wu Hongxiao jolted like a compressed spring, launching herself off the stone steps.

Zhou Kai emerged from the darkness. resting a massive war hammer on his shoulder. Though the weapon was still pitch black, a layer of bloody radiance now swirled around the metal. Within that flowing crimson light, faint phantoms of a Dragon and an Elephant seemed to roar in silence.

“You’re finally out!” Wu Hongxiao shouted.

To refine the stubborn remnant consciousness within the Dragon Elephant True Bone, Zhou Kai had spent an entire extra month. His Divine Sense had been depleted and restored countless times, a grueling process that had unexpectedly sharpened his mental power even further.

His gaze swept the area, landing on the insects. Zhou Kai let out a soft sound of surprise. Sensing they had all reached the mid-Second Rank, he realized the Spirit Rhyme must have erupted again while he was under.

“You finally remembered you have friends out here!” Wu Hongxiao marched up to him, annoyed, and punched him in the chest. “If you stayed in there any longer, I would have assumed you died!”

Zhou Kai grinned and held out the Chaotic Sky Hammer. “Here, brother. Take a look. Judge the craftsmanship.”

Wu Hongxiao’s eyes lit up. Without standing on ceremony, she reached out to grab it.

But the moment her hand closed around the haft, her expression warped. The hammer didn’t look particularly large, but the weight was insane—heavy as a collapsing mountain. Even as a Body Cultivator at the Bone Forging seventh layer, her arm dipped sharply, and she nearly dropped it!

“Good treasure!” Wu Hongxiao grunted, steadying her grip with admiration. “So… when do we refine my spear?”

“What’s the hurry? Once we return to Crouching Tiger City…”

Hum—!

Before Zhou Kai could finish, the Restriction guarding the cave dwelling violently fluctuated.

Their expressions hardened instantly. They exchanged a sharp glance.

The formation opened, and a stunningly beautiful figure staggered inside.

It was Du Chuyao.

But she looked terrible.

Her pristine robes were stained with dark patches of blood. Her breathing was ragged and scorching hot, her cheeks flushed with an unnatural, feverish red. Her usually icy aura was chaotic and wild.

Thud!

With a casual toss, she threw a mangled, bloody human figure onto the dirt floor.

Wan Lang.

The man was unconscious, bound tightly in talisman chains like a hog for slaughter. A half-foot-long stone spike was brutally embedded in his Dantian, severing his connection to his Mana. The aura of his Golden Core had weakened to a flickering candle flame.

“Senior Sister Du!” Wu Hongxiao exclaimed, rushing forward to support the swaying woman.

Zhou Kai, however, frowned deeply.

The air was suddenly thick with a sickly sweet, peculiar fragrance. He looked at Du Chuyao’s glazed eyes and the sweat glistening on her jade-like neck, and his heart sank.

Aphrodisiac poison.

Instantly, the traumatic memory of having his five senses sealed and being used as a cultivation tool flashed through his mind. His body reacted before his brain did; he took two sharp steps backward, putting distance between them.

Du Chuyao saw it.

Her golden pupils, swimming with moisture and suppressed desire, locked onto him. There was a trace of thin anger in her gaze.

“What? Is sleeping with me really that much of a hardship for you?”

The words were sharp, sounding like an accusation, yet laced with bitter self-mockery.

Zhou Kai gave an awkward, dry laugh. “Ah, well…”

Du Chuyao snorted coldly and turned her head away, her neck muscles tight. “Without that grand formation, Wan Lang is just trash. And don’t worry—I can suppress and refine this lust poison myself. I don’t need your help.”

Zhou Kai breathed a visible sigh of relief. He pointed at the half-dead captive. “Fairy Du, why keep him alive? Why not kill him?”

“If we kill him now, the Life Tablet he left at the Desire Wonder Palace will shatter instantly,” Du Chuyao rasped, her voice trembling slightly. “His father is a Nascent Soul cultivator. He would tear space to get here. If that happens, we’d have to flee back to the city immediately. How would we kill Yun Kang then?”

Du Chuyao’s breathing stabilized slightly. She retrieved a Jade Slip and tossed it to Zhou Kai. “Here. The alchemy inheritance of the Desire Wonder Palace.”

Zhou Kai caught it, swept it briefly with his Divine Sense, and stowed it away in his Storage Bag.

Du Chuyao prepared to sit cross-legged and force out the poison, but the communication jade talisman at her waist suddenly lit up.

“What is it, Senior Sister?” Wu Hongxiao asked nervously.

Du Chuyao scanned the message, her hazy eyes suddenly sharpening into blades. “My disciples sent word. They’ve engaged Yun Kang’s forces.”

Zhou Kai and Wu Hongxiao straightened up, electricity shooting through their veins.

“The outcome? Is the bastard dead?” Wu Hongxiao demanded.

“Yun Kang’s Bone Forging late-stage guards held off my disciples. He escaped, protected by two Bone Forging Grand Perfection death warriors.”

Zhou Kai’s eyes narrowed. “Do we know the escape route?”

“If we head East, we should be able to intercept them.”

Clang.

Wu Hongxiao slammed the butt of her spear into the ground, her fighting spirit erupting like a volcano. “Then what are we waiting for?! With our speed, if we leave now, we can cut him off before he crosses the mountain range!”

Du Chuyao gritted her teeth and tried to stand.

“Fairy Du!” Zhou Kai reached out, stopping her with a firm gesture.

“Fairy, you are grievously injured and battling a potent poison. It is not suitable for you to fight. Besides, we need you here to guard Wan Lang, just in case.”

He paused, turning his gaze to Wu Hongxiao, who was practically vibrating with bloodlust. A surge of heroic spirit filled his chest.

“He’s just a stray dog on the run. Why would we need Fairy Du to personally dirty her hands?”

Zhou Kai grinned, his teeth white against the gloom of the cave. “Hongxiao and I will go. We’ll be back in no time.”

Before the words even faded, he grabbed Wu Hongxiao’s wrist. Their figures dissolved into a streak of escaping light, blasting out of the cave dwelling in an instant.

“Fairy Du, just wait here for the good news!”

His voice echoed in the empty cave, but the man was already gone.